Padgett Stratemann is now RMSAs San Antonio becomes a bigger player in Texas Business, more national firms are entering this market. A national firm does not start from zero. RMS (http://rsmus.com/) purchased Padgett. This gives the buyer a large client base to start with. Typically the local partners have made a handsome profit on their time at the firm. But seeking to recoup the investment, the buyer typically raises fees knowing some business will be lost. RMS has re located from North Loop 410 to 1604 and 281. Renee Foshee, a tax expert with the firm, is the current SA CPA Society President.

Turner Cleveland PCTerry Cleveland has addressed our students. Two of our graduates are employed with at this firm.

Ridout Barrett CPAsTony Ridout has visited and addressed our students many times. We have placed graduates with Ridout for several years.

Financial Consulting Firms

Aventine Hill Partners, Inc.Beth Hair CEO founded Aventine in San Antonio in 2009. The firm now has offices in Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, and Houston. She formerly was with RGP.

Resource Global ProfessionalsSusan Hough has been to campus and spoken to our students. She is the San Antonio Manager of RGP. RGP and Aventine are not CPA firms. Instead they offer contract specialists for firms needing specific tasks such as compliance or Controllerships.

Accounting Information

Acounting Today This is an independent site for accounting news regarding firms and current issues.

Accounting Certifications

Certified Information Systems Auditor CISANow that everything is literally on the computer and cyber security becomes a prominent issue, I see more and more accounting professionals with this designation. Previously known as the Information Systems and Audit Control Association, it now goes by the acronym ISACA.

Geo Politics

Institute for the Study of WarThe Institute for the Study of War advances an informed understanding of military affairs through reliable research, trusted analysis, and innovative education. We are committed to improving the nation’s ability to execute military operations and respond to emerging threats in order to achieve U.S. strategic objectives. ISW is a non-partisan, non-profit, public policy research organization.

StratforThis Austin, TX based site was begun by an ex Texas State Professor.

Socionomics

October 31, 2007

Robert Samuelson takes a look at George Clark's new book. Clark suggests that societal culture has a great deal to do with the adoption of new models, ways of thinking and ways of getting things done. Hence it may be that societies that are resistant to change, won't! There is nothing really revolutionary about that and it may explain why so many want to come to the United States.

Victor Davis Hanson wrote a column a while back noting that a wide variety of characters were using a park in California. Yet there were no riots, no ethnic cleansing campaigns, no religious intonations calling for death to the infidels over a matter of clothing for example. And that's the difference-tolerance. And so Africa and the Middle East remain what they are and Europe and America remain what they are, and probably will.

October 30, 2007

Speaking in New Dehili, Tsy Sec Paulson said the US is for a strong dollar. One has to wonder if he isn't refrrring to the Canadian dollar that just went to a premium over the US Dollar. This is the first time for the Canuck Buck to do that since the 1970s. The US Dollar has now fallen from 120 on the Dollar Index to about 78. Apparently Paulson had to go to the other side of the world, where even the Indian rupee is gaining on the US Buck to say this without being questioned by the press.

Cabinet Officials tend to be official spin meisters for their Presidents. But as a former Goldman Sachs heavy, this is a bit much even for someone paid to spin.

Now test your knowledge, do you know which exchange in the US trades currency futures?

October 29, 2007

Cilck here to read about Merrill's big write off. Stanley O'Neal, CEO just last week, is headed for the exits after trying to sell MER to Wachovia without Board authorization. Other 'banks' are also taking writedown. This illustrates several concepts we have recently studied in Intermed I.

Materiality-Yes $7.9 B would change my mind about the condition of the company

Historical cost and impairment - asset values which are impaired have to be written down

What is operating and non operating, I am looking for a copy of the third quarter statement where MER took the write down

Stop and think, there are ethical and actual issues involved here too. An Investment Bank normally packages and re sells securities to the public. Here with all these sub prime mortgages in inventory, clearly MER is participating in the market rather tan selling things to the public. As you read the article it is clear this was the idea of O'Neal, take more risk by participating rather than just making commissions.

As my Dad used to say, these guys are not as smart as they think they are.

October 25, 2007

The Dallas Observer has investigated the DISD credit card scandal and has some interesting observations. Have you read the observer? This is an unofficial investigative watchdog on all things Dallas, take a look.

October 23, 2007

Airbus has only had 165 orders for hte new giant A 380, it takes 420 to break even, whoops.

MSFT spends six times what GOOG does in advertising. Plus GOOG has not made me mad with a new release I have to learn. This makes GOOG cool and the most valuable brand on teh planet,.

AOL RIP, instead of subscriptions, AOL has become just another ad supporte dsite, revenue is down 32% in 2007. 7 Million subscribers have hit the road. You will recall this became one of the largest impairment losses in hisotry when Time Warner had to write its value down.

Congress is determined to make Turkey angry over the Armenian vote. Meanwhile the GDP of Turkey is up 122% in the past four years. Check it out at Turkey.

Apple just posted a record year. The stock jumped 7% in after hours trading yesterday afternoon when profits were announced. Can you see why there are so many rules on the cumputationof EPS when such results can push a stock price in this maner? Again this underscores my interest in Design, something where Apple exceeds, the best Dell can manage is a colored laptop case.

While I usually don't agree with Paul Krugman, this article succintly sums up the mortgage problem. He notes the latest idea promoted by Tsy Sec Paulson is more of the same, buy more mortgages in SIV Special Investment Vehicles. Will this work, Greenspan who has yet to admit the error of lowering rates too far in the first place, does not think so.

October 22, 2007

Grant Thornton has just named a female partner to head their Women's Intiatives and Programs group. The number of female partners at GT is up 138% since 2004.

IN another interesting note, CFOs want more accounting choices. This survey suggests what many of we instructors have suggested in class, that there are not enough firms to adequately audit all the companies and provide enough choices. Clearly the firms other outside the Big Four are making a push to be noticed. GT revenue just topped one billion bucks by the way.

October 20, 2007

As you may have heard, Comedy Central's Stephen Colbert is running for President. Click for the unofficial site. Interestingly in fairness to all he wants to run in both the Rep and Dem primaries in South Carolina. While this will no doubt provide a much needed relief from what has been an entirely scripted, boring campaign by nearly everyone involved, the reason I mention this is to remind you that yes

everything new is old again, there are few new ideas under the sun specifically comedians running for President. And the parallels are remarkable.

In 1968 comedian Pat Paulsen also ran for President, pledging he would not run if nominated and would not serve if elected. The similarities between the two are amazing. Once again popular culture seems to predict rather than follow such events.

The stock market had just hit 989.03 for the first time in 1966. similarly the Dow just hit a new high above 14,000.

An unpopular war provided the backdrop for both shows. Indeed the Smothers Brothers finally went off the air due to their comments about LBJ and the war. Daly is a bit smarter taking jabs at both parties though primarily the Republicans.

In b both instances the President's popularity had dropped significantly. Johnson for whom the Presidency ad been a dream though an accident due to the Kennedy assassination, actually chose not to run again in 1968 rather than face the voters over the Viet Nam War. Bush cannot run again but prospects for his party do not appear good given the 2006 mid term elections.

The comedians style is similar, poking fun at conventional wisdom and politics. Each enjoyed a rapid rise in popularity once discovered on their respective shows. Colbert got is own show on Comedy Central after proving popular on Daly, Paulsen would get other TV gigs based on his basset hound droll appearance.

This is happening forty years to the year. The fact that comedians could make fun of the process in both instances suggests that the extreme low ratings for actual politicians at each time registers a public dissatisfaction with all of them and so they take delight in someone who spoofs the entire process.

October 18, 2007

Did you see this in the UNT paper? Apparently Bearfire is serious about building an artificial ski slope outside Forth Worth, TX. The trick will be a astro snow type invention.Only problem is raising the $700 M, well gee, call Arlington, they like these projects, at least you can ski more often than the Dallas Cowboys play football. Do you think this will happen?